The Tale of Scarlet Dawn
by Alexus-1138
Summary: A story tracking the various struggles of a myserious group as they struggle to take their place in the galaxy.
1. Chapter 1

**THE TALE OF SCARLET DAWN**

**Prologue**

The inky blackness of space was laid out before him, stars spread across it like millions of pearls. If he reached out, he could almost touch them, take them.

Almost…

He would stand here, sometimes for whole hours, until he was almost a part of the ship. He could feel the subtle vibration in the deck, and hear the whine of the ventilation system. He imagined he could almost feel the heat and hear the song of Hyperspace.

A soft chime sounded, a pleasant female voice began speaking over the intercom. One of the fighter coordinators, he thought. "Could Admiral Kiranus please come to the bridge."

It might be something important. However, Kiranus took a short moment to take in the beauty of the Ison Corridor, four hundred light years distant. Then he left the observation deck and headed for the bridge.

The immense reconditioned Teta-class Battlecruiser slid through the void, micrometeorites bouncing off the armour plating while suited workers welded on more turbolasers, more ion cannon. Found by Kiranus Kan's father twelve years previously it had seen his organisation through several escapades.

Scarlet Dawn. They were a mystery to the Galaxy, striking anywhere then going dormant for years only to flare up again. They would attack trade convoys, mining operations anything they could take money or resources from. They never harmed civilians or escorts, but they had no qualms destroying any pirate bands operating near them.

There was a large bounty on the head of their leader, one pursued often. No one knew who that was, but somehow they would find the base ship on which he travelled.

Kiranus arrived on the command deck.

"Admiral on deck!" shouted the deck sergeant. The bridge crew stood to attention. Kiranus was proud of their dedication, their conduct. They looked, and functioned like a military unit.

"At ease," he said. He walked over to the fighter coordinator. "You called?" he said to her.

"Yes sir. The information raid on Sluis Van went well. The shuttle commander says they downloaded most of the archives. However…"

"However what?"

"There was some pursuit."

"The Empire?"

"No sir. A Marauder Corvette and 15 Cloakshape fighters," she punched up the schematics for both of these ship types. Kiranus glanced at the sensor board.

He frowned. "Assuming best speed for both ships, how long until they reach firing range?"

The scanning officer quickly typed that in. "Two minutes," he said, "It won't be much of a fight. We must outgu- uh oh."

"Uh oh, Ensign? Care to be more specific?" Kiranus knew it was best to stay good natured around the crew. This would ensure that as well as respecting him, they liked him.

"They must have called in some help… I am reading a Victory-class Mark Two Star Destroyer that just jumped out of Hyperspace. It will be on us in one minute."

Kiranus ran the numbers through his head, working out the odds.

"_Now_ it's a fight," he said.

Kiranus snatched up the intercom. "Action stations. Allcrew to the guns." He turned to the ship's Executive Officer, Colonel Bast Himron.

"They do outgun us sir, but only if they stay behind the ship. If we get behind or below them they won't stand a chance."

Kiranus stared at the sensor board for several seconds. A calm voice rang over the intercom, echoing slightly as he could hear the man announcing his message not three metres away.

"Enemy Victory-class will be within weapons range in… thirty seconds. All crew are ordered once again to report to their stations."

Kiranus made his decision. "Execute battle plan besh."

The colonel nodded. "Aye sir. Aft turbolaser batteries, begin suppression fire. All concussion missile tubes are to commence heavy barrage."

"Addendum…" Kiranus studied the hardcopy report of the scanning data. He looked up at the screen again. "Move us straight down by two hundred metres. Then we can fire with the dorsal turbolasers."

"Aye sir." Himron relayed the order to the gunner droids and helmsman. There was a slight lurch as the ship shifted downward.

Streams of scarlet and green filled space for several dozen seconds before they finally met their targets. The _Crimson Twilight_ shuddered from the barrage of turbolasers. She responded with hundreds of concussion missiles, their ball-shaped detonation blasting away the Imperial ship's shields.

Colonel Himron continued giving orders as Kiranus held onto the bridge handrail and stared up at the tactical display. The bridge was similar to that of a Star Destroyer, but the crew pits had been elevated and there were several screens suspended from the roof. There was a jolt and one of them fell to the deck with a shower of sparks.

"Dorsal Battery Six, you've got a red light on the coolant valve display! Lock that down right now! The destroyer's shields are weakening in quadrant one four six. Concentrate fire on that area," Himron barked. The crew diligently attended to their tasks.

Kiranus reached a decision. "Plot a microjump away from the Victory. Then turn us round and jump right on top of her." Himron frowned.

"I'll see what we can do… Lieutenant Salar. New orders."

The ship continued to rock with turbolaser blasts. Kiranus could see the dorsal shields were weakening… and then there was a massive lurch, and then another. The ship had jumped.

"Rotating, and shifting pitch… one seven six by two zero zero… one eight zero by four zero zero… we are on target. Activating Hyperdrive."

Another lurch. Another. And then the Victory was directly below them.

"Fire!" ordered Kiranus. The ventral batteries began firing, and soon they were joined by dozens of missiles. The Imperial ship began dropping with the force of it.

Kiranus turned to the Colonel. "Colonel Himron. Do we have any heavy weapons onboard?"

Himron paused for a moment. "Six half-teraton proton torps. If we drop them on her right now it could destroy us."

"I want two of those torpedoes in ventral tube seven. And I want another microjump plotted."

Himron smiled. "Yes sir." A moment passed. Or was it a minute? Kiranus wasn't sure.

Himron gave him a thumbs-up sign. Obviously everything was ready.

Kiranus straightened up. "Fire torpedoes! Jump. Jump now!" The ship blasted into Hyperspace, just as the Imperial ship was swallowed in a blinding globe of light.

"The Marauder?" said Kiranus, once again taking in the sensor board.

"Gone, sir. They must have made a blind jump."

"Very well," said Kiranus, "You may set course for the Hub." Himron nodded.

The ship reoriented itself and tore it's way into hyperspace.


	2. Chapter 2

_This is just a small update to introduce some storylines and characters. Special thanks to __Evaron__ for inspiration, and there will be a larger update soon. Feedback: I crave it, I yearn for it. Thank you. _

**Chapter One**

The Battlecruiser dropped out of Hyperspace directly on top of the planetoid codenamed 'the Hub'. An ancient spherical asteroid, it had seen miners, smugglers, pirates and then finally Scarlet Dawn.

Lieutenant Tras of the Imperial Intelligence Bureau pored over the smudgy holo of 'the Hub', attempting to discern any ship names, or markings, or anything. But once again his operative had failed.

"_Insider once again unable to get clear holo through thick viewports,"_ he noted,_ "insider will be informed he should attempt to gain use of external holocam for short period of time."_ Tras sighed. He had been accelerated through the ranks by his father until he had made Lieutenant at the amazingly low age of twenty six. But then his father had died, and then the higher ups had given him this case. Scarlet Dawn! What _were_ they? He never knew what to put on his reports, and his reports were few enough; information gleaned from smugglers and pirates and from his useless insider. Did he call them mercenaries? No, because they were unreachable and didn't work for money. Pirates? Double no, because they seemed to be on some high-and-mighty quest to destroy any pirates who came near them.

They were elusive.

And Tras hated them.

As the young ISB officer seriously contemplated suicide the Scarlet Dawn cruiser had drawn alongside the Hub to dock. As soon as the seal was airtight Kiranus made his way into the planetoid. It was an amazing construction, something he could take pride in. The outer layers were automated turbocannons and concussion missile launchers, but as he walked deeper the defences quickly made way for living quarters, tapcafs, cantinas and even a small park.

Kiranus reached his own quarters, deep inside the Hub. He paused to compose himself, then keyed the door chime and let himself in. A smile broke across his face as he saw his wife waiting. She returned the smile and ran over to him. They held each other for a long moment.

"I heard your deal with the Sullustans went sour," he said, allowing some concern to creep into his features. His wife grinned. "Thalatos?"

"The deal went fine, Kir," she said, flicking one lekku over her shoulder, "they'll sell us the Libs at a ten percent discount."

"Who did you have to twitch your head-tails at for that one?"

"Oh, do be quiet."

Kiranus walked over to their sparse kitchen unit and poured himself a glass of water. He allowed it to pool on his tongue for a moment, then swallowed.

A smile. "Did we get a new water reclamation unit while I was gone? This tastes almost real… no sweat or dead beetles or anything. Although, I do detect a hint of sulphur."

"On the trip to Sullust we picked up an old WaterRec," Thalatos replied, "they _said _the sulphur couldn't be detected by humans."

Kiranus finished the rest of the water. "Any other changes while I was off buying second-hand Y-Wings and blowing up Star Destroyers?"

If Thalatos was surprised she hid it quite well. A tiny flick of her lekku gave her away though. "Some new pilots joined us," she started, and then gave in. "A whole Star Destroyer? Or just a small one?"

Kiranus smirked. "You know I was never one to brag. Pilots?"

"Bothans. Kasir Hey'Jya and eleven others. 'Whitefur Squadron'. They tracked us down and offered their services."

"Why?"

"They heard we tangle with the Imps. Imps blew up their refuelling station and their families on it when they worked as privateers for the Alliance." Her face flushed a dark blue, "they only escorted medical convoys, and I…" Kiranus knew it was painful for her. But she used the pain, focused it on what she was doing, "it was the _Crippler_ that got them. The same ship that…" she sat down and covered her eyes.

"Thalatos? Are you alright?" said Kiranus, clumsily. He sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulders.

"I'm alright. I'm alright," she said, and looked up at him. She was a little pale, but she was okay, "thank you Kir. Now…" she drew a deep breath, and once again she was Thalatos Kan, warrior, leader. "I suppose you will want to meet the Bothans."

Kiranus followed her out, and hit the lights as they passed through the door.


End file.
